Magical Thinking
by randomwriting
Summary: We're not anywhere, but we are here. JC


Magical Thinking

Disclaimer: CBS, creators, producers, etc., own all recognizable characters, not me; I'm just borrowing them.

Magical Thinking

The traffic eased up the further Calleigh got from downtown, just as she'd expected it would. The bumper-to-bumper mayhem she'd been snagged in for the past twenty minutes while everyone sought his or her celebration destination for the evening was now a blur in the rear view mirror, yet the knots of tension taking up residence in her shoulders and neck remained. Reaching behind with one hand, she kneaded whatever places she could reach while keeping the other hand steady on the wheel.

A last minute run to the lab to retrieve her thermos from her locker succeeded in eating time and placing her in the middle of gridlock, but it couldn't be helped; she needed that thermos and wasn't going to leave without it. Sighing heavily, she made a mental note that the next time she needed to exit the city in a hurry on one of the busiest nights of the year, she'd be better prepared. But since this wasn't a trip she'd planned on taking in the first place, or at least that's what she'd been telling herself for the past three days, the last minute errand couldn't be helped.

With luck, the rest of the drive would be effortless. She knew her way around the greater Miami area better than she knew her hometown in Louisiana, having investigated all its nooks and crannies as part of her job for the past several years. Barring any unforeseen complication, she'd arrive at her destination shortly. However, even the promise of an easy, speedy zip up familiar roads didn't help lessen the tightness in her back, or the unease currently gripping her insides, because that unease had little to do with the drive and everything to do with the destination. And the destination had everything to do with the Christmas card lying on the passenger seat beside her.

It was nothing more than a ninety-nine cent holiday greeting, the kind found in any chain drugstore for half price in the days following Christmas. Adorned with an unremarkable print of an evergreen poorly transferred onto cheap card stock and embellished with glitter that came off in her hands, it nonetheless put a crimp on her heart when it arrived in the mail two days after Christmas, sporting no return address and handwriting she instantly recognized. Scrawled on the inside cover in black ink was a New Year's invitation, the same New Year's invitation she'd issued its author several years earlier. It was signed simply, _Love, J., _which could only mean Jake Berkeley.

Her intention had always been to decline the invitation. That was never in question, except that he'd failed to leave her with any way to reach him, making that task impossible despite her best efforts. But that was his problem, not hers. She had plans for New Year's Eve, plans that didn't include involving herself with a cocky ex-boyfriend, who'd somehow maneuvered himself back into her life in the blink of an eye, while she did nothing to stop him. No, her plans centered on a different invitation, one that promised a fireworks studded celebration she'd never forget.

That particular invitation arrived shortly after Jake left on an undercover assignment, two weeks after they'd spent another ill-advised, yet admittedly blissful night together, during which they'd once again failed to resolve exactly what it was they were doing with one another. In light of the recent chaos he'd thrown into her life, this invite to celebrate New Year's Eve with friends in a spectacular oceanfront home was exactly what she needed. That there was a single man involved, one her friends were falling all over themselves attempting to fix her up with, was truly beside the point. All she desired was an uncomplicated night out and an opportunity to dress up. Yet here she was, dressed for a party and quasi-date her heart wasn't in, on her way, instead, to spend the night with a man her heart was unable to shake. It was enough to make her want to turn around and head for the sanctuary of the ballistics lab, but since she'd just passed the sign indicating her exit that thought was rapidly extinguished.

A sudden and unexpected wave of nostalgia washed over her as she pulled into the nearly empty hotel parking lot. Although years had passed since her last visit, the two-story building and grounds were unchanged and had likely undergone little renovation since being built in the 50's. One of the last family owned, small resorts situated right on the beach in the greater Miami area, it was a bargain with few amenities. But amenities were not on either of their minds when she and Jake sought an inexpensive beachfront hotel for their infrequent weekend getaways way back when. All they needed was a bed and a small patch of sand. Memories she couldn't corral flitted haphazardly across her mind and for a moment, she was lost in another time all together. The sound of a plane overhead snapped her out of her reverie, bringing her swiftly back to the present.

After spotting his Harley parked at the far end of the lot, she pulled up next to it and cut the engine. Carefully she stepped onto the pavement, taking care not to scuff her brand new, three and a half inch black satin stilettos. She smoothed the hem of the emerald green, silk chiffon, sleeveless dress bought especially for tonight, and felt a sudden surge of irritation over her altered plans. Why, she wondered, had she let him turn her life inside out so effortlessly?

With its rows of open draperies and darkened rooms, this end of the building appeared mostly uninhabited tonight. Quickly deducing that the only unit sporting the faint glow of a lamp behind closed drapes was Jake's, she stepped up and rapped on the door. A moment later, she found herself staring into a familiar pair of sleepy, brown eyes.

"Hi," he said, stifling a yawn.

"I had no intention of coming here tonight," she huffed, ignoring any pretense of a greeting as well as the overnight bag slung over her shoulder.

"Well, it's good to see you, too, Calleigh," he said, giving her an amused smile.

"I only meant that I had plans tonight," she offered feebly. "Plans that didn't include you."

"Yeah, I can see that," he said, slowly and seductively sweeping his eyes across her. "You don't exactly look like you're dressed for sitting on the beach." Casually propping himself against the doorframe, he folded his arms across his chest and fixed his appreciative gaze directly on her. "Yet here you are."

Flattered by the obvious interest and approval he made no attempt to hide, she found herself smiling in spite of her earlier irritation. "Here I am," she sighed with a small shake of her head. Despite the many half-hearted attempts over the past few days to convince herself otherwise, there had never been any real question of where tonight would find her and she knew it.

"You want to come in, or did you just swing by to tell me you had other plans?" he asked wryly. She sailed past him without answering, hoping that wasn't a faint chuckle she heard behind her back.

Once inside she scanned the room. Looking slightly lived in, much like its lone inhabitant, who, unlike her, had dressed down for the occasion in a white T-shirt worn under a shabby, flannel button down and a pair of jeans, the room appeared to have changed little since their last visit. Judging from the amount of trash, scattered newspaper sections, and the rumpled shirt tossed carelessly on a chair, it looked as if he'd been here for more than a day.

"Looks just the same, doesn't it?" he asked as if reading her mind. Facing him, she noticed that he'd made himself comfortable on the unmade bed and was sitting up against the headboard while he watched her movements.

"Mmm. Pretty much," she answered with a nod. "Guess I'm not surprised, it never was a high traffic place. Seems well maintained, though," she added, looking around, lost in the nostalgia of the moment. Absently, she dropped her bag onto the closest chair and placed her purse on the small, round table next to it.

"No problems finding your way?"

"Hmm? No. I knew the way. No problems," she said, smiling wistfully.

"Figured you would." She turned away, but could still feel his eyes on her. "You look beautiful, Calleigh. Really, beautiful."

"Thank you." She smiled wider, turning back to him. Making her way to the bed, she took a seat on the edge after he'd shifted his lanky frame to make room for her. "And you, you look tired," she said, noticing for the first time, the dark circles that rimmed his eyes, as well as the faint bruise above his cheek. "Really tired."

"Not a lot of sleep the past few days," he shrugged. "Was just trying to get things wrapped up as quickly as possible," he added matter of factly. "You know how that is." Except that right now, she didn't.

"So you're..." she began hesitantly.

"Wrapped up?" he asked, finishing the question for her. She nodded. "Yeah," he said, mimicking the motion. "Couple days ago. Didn't happen before Christmas like I'd hoped, though. Wasn't sure it was gonna happen at all the way things had been going," he said with frustration spilling into his voice. "But we caught a break. And here I am." She waited, but nothing else was forthcoming. It was the typical vague response she'd learned years ago to expect from Jake, who kept from her anything that could potentially pose a threat to either her, or his case. Unfortunately, it was also the kind that left them virtually between a rock and a hard place all too often. She sighed wearily, biting back the questions that threatened to spill out while her simmering frustration threatened to do likewise. No matter that she'd learned the way this worked a long time ago, it was a lesson she'd never mastered. She felt his fingertips light on her arm and looked up to meet his imploring eyes. "Later, okay?" he asked in a voice that held a faint plea and a promise.

Unused to his willingness to discuss his assignments, she was taken aback by the possibility that this time would be different. "Oh, okay," she cautiously agreed, before hastening to ask, "But you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Calleigh." His expression softened, probably in response to the slight look of alarm she wore. "Really," he added, smiling warmly.

"I'm glad," she said, matching his smile.

"You remember the last time we were here?" he asked, changing the subject before taking a slug from the open beer that had been sitting on the table next to the bed.

She nodded and inhaled deeply as her eyes darted around the room. "Yeah, I do." This time the memory brought a thoughtful smile to her lips. It was a stolen long weekend in the early fall when the remnants of summer clung to hot, cloudless days of bright, blue skies that slowly melted into cool, starlit nights tailor made for snuggling under a blanket on a small patch of sand. One perfect weekend amid the stress and havoc that extended family, work and prolonged separations wreaked on their lives and their relationship. It was the picture of that weekend that burned in her mind several weeks later when she issued her request that they return to their favorite getaway spot for the New Year's holiday. It was as if intuitively she knew they were on the long, slow road to their eventual coming apart and they needed something to help get them back on the right track. He'd promised, but failed to deliver.

It was evident now from their matching, wistful expressions that their thoughts had traveled down the same bittersweet road. For a moment, it seemed neither knew where to go from there, but Jake, who hated letting her down, yet managed to be his own worst enemy by having difficulty both fulfilling what he'd promised, and remembering she was supposed to come first, was quick to recover.

"I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to wish you Merry Christmas," he said.

"I know, me too. I'm sorry I missed your calls, but I got your messages. It was good to hear your voice, at least I knew you were safe, wherever you were," she said, letting her voice trail.

"How was your Christmas? You worked, right?"

"Mmm. We were actually pretty busy, but the rest of my day was quiet. Everyone gathered back home, even Daddy, so it was just me this year," she said, giving him a half-hearted smile. "I ate with some friends, listened to my messages and turned in early. How about you?"

"The same thing I did every other day. Only on Christmas, I got to listen to really bad Christmas music while I ate my crappy dinner in the dive where I ate most of my crappy dinners. Called home, left you a couple messages and fell asleep. Not much of a holiday, but at least New Year's was salvaged," he shrugged. "Especially now that you're here," he added, joining her on the edge of the bed. "You really do look beautiful, Calleigh. I'm imagining I took you away from something pretty special tonight." A frown marred his features, but his eyes retained their softness.

"A friend was having a party. Typical New Year's Eve stuff," she said offhandedly, absently smoothing unseen wrinkles out of her dress.

"Someone at that party very disappointed not to be seeing you right now?" he asked, fixing an intent gaze on her. Drawing a quick breath, she hesitated a long moment before answering, long enough for him to deduce the answer on his own. "Didn't think you'd be sitting home alone tonight," he said resignedly not waiting for her response.

"It's not what you think," she said, wondering why she felt she owed him an explanation at all. "But, you're right, I did have plans."

"Am I supposed to apologize for that? Cause I'm really not sorry that you're here instead of wherever you were supposed to be, especially dressed like that."

"No, you're not, not for the choices that are mine, but for doing this, again? You could try apologizing, but I don't know what good it'll do."

"For doing _what_ again?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.

"For doing what you always do," she blurted, shooting him a look of complete exasperation. "You dump the decisions on me, then walk away unscathed," she said, gesturing with her arms wide open before folding them across her chest. "This is no different than showing up uninvited and waiting for me to ask you to leave." Agitated she rose off the bed and paced a few steps before turning around to face him.

"All I did was write and ask you if you wanted to spend New Year's with me. It's not like I showed up on your doorstep as you were on your way out," he countered. "As soon as I knew I could be here, I wrote you. I figured you'd have a couple days to decide what you wanted to do. You didn't have to come here tonight if you didn't want to," he said, shaking his head while his lips drew together in a tight line.

"What was I supposed to do?" she asked in a voice that was an octave higher.

"Well, I don't know, Calleigh. I guess that was the decision I dumped on you," he answered, making no attempt to mask his sarcasm.

"Jake, why didn't you call me? Or at the least, leave me a number where I could reach you."

"I couldn't," he said, shaking his head. "At least not when I wrote you."

"Couldn't or wouldn't?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "It looks like you've been here for at least a day," she said, moving back towards the bed and sitting in the spot she had just vacated.

"And if I had called and asked you to come here tonight, what would your answer have been?" he asked, keeping his eyes locked on hers. "Yeah, exactly what I thought," he said, answering his own question. "You would have told me you already had plans and then proceeded to give me every reason why it wouldn't be a good idea for us to get together."

"And what? That wasn't the answer you wanted, so you made it so that I had no choice but to show up or leave you here waiting all night?" she asked, shifting her gaze away from his.

"It wasn't like that, Calleigh."

"That's exactly what it was, Jake. How could I go out tonight knowing you were waiting here for me? You forget, I know what it feels like to wait for someone who doesn't show up." She didn't look to see his expression, but the immediate sharp intake of breath she heard was enough to let her know the words had hit their intended target.

"Is that the only reason you came tonight?" he asked. She looked up, meeting a pair of brown eyes that probed hers with intensity she found unnerving. Abruptly he turned his head to the opposite side of the room. "Maybe you're right, maybe I didn't want to hear that you had other plans. I had a feeling what your answer would be," he continued, avoiding her penetrating gaze. "I guess I figured if you thought about it for a couple days, then you might warm up to the idea. It was my choice to wait. You know, to keep hoping you would show up for as long as I could."

"It's not the only reason I came, Jake." She could tell by his body language and the way he struggled with the words, that his admission hadn't been an easy one.

"No?" he asked, casting a doubtful glance in her direction.

"No," she reassured. "But you were right, my first reaction was to tell you that this wasn't a wise idea, but you left me no way to get in touch with you, did you? And believe me, I tried my usual methods," she said, shooting him an aggravated look. "Your card, your invitation to spend New Year's with you here, it was too much of a trip to the past. And I don't want to go there. I won't." She sighed deeply and looked away. Some memories hurt too much to be put on display, even when viewed through a rear view mirror while moving forward.

"It wasn't meant to be a trip backwards, " he said, tripping on the last word. "I mean, it's the New Year," he said as if that explained everything. "I remembered this was something you wanted to do and so did I."

"I didn't," she said a bit too sharply. "I had a party to attend," she said, letting the words hang in the air between them. A party she planned on attending even while absently filling an overnight bag and tossing a blanket in the car. A party she planned on attending right up until she phoned her regrets from the parking lot after retrieving the thermos. "That's what I planned, that's what I dressed for, but I ended up here instead because… because... I don't know," she sighed as her voice trailed off, defeated.

"Cal, what is it?" he asked, piercing through her defenses with a look of unabashed concern.

"It's nothing," she said, dropping her eyes because sometimes looking into his simply hurt too much.

"There's something in that nothing."

"I just wondered," she hesitated, feeling the ache in the words she was about to reveal. "If this time you would be here."

"Calleigh…"

She heard the regret in his voice, but didn't look to see if the pain in his eyes matches hers. Blinking back the sting of tears, she rose from the bed and headed to the door without a backwards glance. "I'm going outside."

Jacketless and wearing heels, she wasn't dressed for a stroll along the shore, but she didn't want to go back into the room either. Instead she wandered to a wooden bench she'd noticed near the entrance, a short distance from where she stood. Barely a moment passed before she heard the room door slam and Jake was sitting beside her, jacket in hand. Wordlessly they sat shoulder to shoulder, each lost in thoughts the other could only imagine. She shouldn't have come tonight, yet she knew she couldn't have stayed away, anymore than Jake seemed able to remain on the periphery of her life where he belonged. Clutching her bare arms tightly across her chest, she shivered in the breezy night air.

"Here," he said, slipping his jacket over her shoulders. "It's cool out here tonight, and you're not dressed for it. I've got long sleeves, at least." Slipping her arms in the well-worn leather jacket that carried the scent and feel of him, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply before murmuring her thanks. As the silence again draped over them, she could practically hear his strained thoughts as he fidgeted in the seat next to her. "I told you when I saw you that last time that I wouldn't be able to get away again for some time. That I would likely miss the holidays," he said after a spell in a voice that seemed to come from a long way off.

"Jake, it was a long time ago," she said with a sadness she couldn't stop from spilling over into her voice.

"But you'd hoped I'd show up anyway because it was important to you, and because I remembered, which I did," he said, sighing deeply.

"You did?" Uncertainty clouded her eyes as he answered her doubts with a nod of his head.

"I'm sorry I let you think I forgot," he said, dropping his head. "I thought we could at least talk to each other on the phone and watch the sunrise from our windows. It wasn't what you wanted, but it was the best I could do. It was too late, though," he mumbled, letting his voice trail. "I called, but you were nowhere to be found," he said with a shrug. "I didn't bother to leave a message. I don't know why, I guess because I'd already disappointed you enough."

"I went to work," she answered as she processed this new information. "I went in early, and then worked a double because we were shorthanded. And you stayed, wherever you were," she said, throwing up her hands. "We didn't talk for a couple of days, and by then New Year's had been filed away, just another thing we didn't talk about. I think I just wanted to forget." Heaviness settled in her chest as the air surrounding her, filled with regret and disappointment, became almost too thick to breathe.

"I should've made more of an effort. I'm sorry, Calleigh. Sorry I let you down, and sorry if asking you here tonight was the wrong thing to do."

"Why did you remember now, after all this time?"

"Why do you assume I forgot?" he shot back.

"Jake, we can't go back. Our relationship is in the past. And nothing has changed between us since then to make that any less true."

"But that's why we're both here, isn't it?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" she asked with irritation, pulling back as he leaned closer.

"Nothing has changed between us. You said it yourself. You just don't seem to want to admit that," he added with an unmistakable glint of amusement in his eyes and an infuriating smirk on his face.

"But it has, Jake," she insisted, although, even to her ears, the words sounded hollow in light of the fervent nights they'd spent together in recent weeks.

"Not completely, Calleigh. Maybe not so much at all," he said, tipping his head and tenderly grazing his lips against hers. "Not for me, anyway." Cupping her cheek with his hand, he stroked lightly with the pad of his thumb, while his lips hovered above hers. She wanted to pull away, wanted to exert her control, but was held in place by the gentleness of his touch. "We are both here, after all." Time moved forward, she could hear it in every breath they took and feel it in the breeze that danced strands of hair across her neck, yet with eyes fixed and lips barely touching, they remained locked in a moment that should have passed.

"It's not enough," she said in a voice so soft she wasn't certain she had spoken aloud. She heard his sigh, and lowered her lids, knowing now that the moment finally passed, leaving her to wonder if the moment for them to figure out just who they were to each other had passed as well.

Resting his forehead against the top of her head, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Tonight was only meant as a place to maybe to start from." He pulled away and leaned back against the bench, staring off into the distance before turning his attention back to her. The loss of his body heat left her shivering despite the coat she still wore. A frown darted across his forehead as he looked her over. "Come on," he said, standing up and grabbing her hand. "It's too breezy to be sitting out here." He'd taken only a few steps towards the room with her trailing behind, holding onto his hand, when he swerved around. "You know, Cal, it's not that late, you can still make your party. I could even give you a ride back if you wanted," he said off-handedly.

She stopped, abruptly dropping his hand. "It's not. That's not what I want." Why she came hadn't been clear before that moment, but it was crystal now. She could leave tonight, slot Jake on the periphery where he could cause little damage and put as much distance between them as possible, but there would never be enough distance between Jake and her heart, which explained how she ended up in the place she'd never left. "I didn't come here to turn around and leave."

"Okay," he said, eyeing her curiously. "I'm good with that," he continued, giving her a crooked smile. "You know, you never told me why you wanted to come here to watch the sunrise on New Year's Day, but I figured it out."

Physically tensing, she cast her eyes downward, feeling the warmth spread across her face as his eyes bored into her. "There wasn't anything to it. It was just an idea left over from a time when I believed in silly notions," she drawled softly, slipping into the heavily accented voice of her youth.

"You've never been a New Year's Eve girl, Calleigh," he said, leaning against the building. "New Year's Eve is all about endings, endings and drunken celebrations wrapped up in regrets. That's not who you are, too many bad memories there. You're about the possibilities the New Year brings. And nothing says new like watching the sunrise on New Year's Day. All slates are wiped clean, anything can happen, and everyone gets a fresh start, even if just for a moment." He stopped then, letting the words hang in the air between them, but kept his gaze firmly fixed on her. "This year, I wanted to give that to you." She looked up to catch him shrugging offhandedly, as if to downplay the significance of his words, but his eyes betrayed him on that score.

Hugging her arms tightly across her chest, she slowly turned the words over in her mind. He'd figured it out. Figured her out. Which meant she was either a whole lot more transparent than she thought, or else Jake not only possessed the ability to see all the way through to the parts she'd closed off, but also cared enough to want to. Either way he'd stripped back another layer of protective coating, leaving her raw and exposed, and this time she had no one to blame but herself. "I gave up magical thinking a long, long time ago," she said in a voice devoid of emotion.

At once he was in front of her, lifting her chin with the tips of his fingers and gazing at her with a look of complete devotion. "Yeah, I would guess so after the past couple years you've had," he said softly. "But I know you, Calleigh, and you don't give up. You're not capable of giving up, not in yourself, not in what you believe in, not in possibilities, and never in the people you care for." Moving his hand behind her neck, he snaked his other hand under the jacket, and around her waist to the small of her back, drawing her closer in one fluid movement. She tilted her head expectantly and he met her lips in a brief, tender kiss. "And that's just one of the things I happen to love about you."

Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, feeling her heart swell. Love. She loved him, too. Had loved him all along, in fact, but she wasn't ready to let the words out, to strip the remaining layers off the painstakingly pieced together heart that she'd protected for so long. It would take a lot more than pretty words before she'd be ready to do that.

What they needed now was time. Time to discover if they were a pair who'd lost their way together or if they'd never even been on the right road. He'd been right about her, it wasn't in her nature to give up, not in him, and not in the possibility of them, not when she still had hope. And a shiny new year to pin it on.

Slipping her arms around him, she lifted her chin and reached for his lips, kissing him lightly. "You were really going to spend your New Year's Eve alone, waiting for me, knowing I might not show up?" she asked, biting back the smile that tugged on her lips.

His own smile curved the edges of his mouth upwards, and he laughed lightly. "Yes, Calleigh, believe it or not, I was."

"And what were you going to do if I never showed up?" she asked, no longer hiding her grin.

"Guess I'd be catching up on my sleep. Alone," he emphasized.

"Well you do look awfully tired," she teased. He opened his mouth, likely to deny, but she silenced him with a kiss that undoubtedly took his mind off his planned retort. "But I hate to think of you here alone," she said, momentarily pulling back before he reclaimed her lips.

"… been miserable," he mumbled against her lips between kisses.

Needing to catch her breath, she rested her head against his chest, listening to his pounding heart in one ear, and the pounding surf from the nearby ocean in her other. "Do you want to sit on the beach and watch the New Year sunrise with me?"

"Yeah, I do," he answered, threading his fingers through her wind tangled locks. "I even checked the alarm clock in the room to make sure it was working."

"And I have a blanket and a thermos in the car," she said, letting her enthusiasm spill into her voice.

"What do you want to do till then?"

"You kind of look like you could use a nap right about now," she said playfully.

He cocked his head to the side, shaking it as he frowned. "I am not that tired," he insisted. "Besides, I napped while I was waiting for you." He stepped back, boldly raking his eyes over her. "You look stunning in that dress, Cal. Pity to waste it here. I should take you out. What do you say?"

She beamed, basking in his obvious appreciation. The dress had made the impact she'd hoped for when she purchased it and on exactly the right recipient, making it money well spent, but she had other plans for it now.

"I was actually thinking it was time to slip it off, if you'd care to assist," she said suggestively, trailing a finger down the front of his T-shirt.

His eyes widened approvingly. "You don't have to ask me twice," he said, swooping in for a lingering, knee-weakening kiss.

"Jake, wait," she panted, slightly breathless from the kiss. "You and I, we're not, I mean, I'm not sure, not completely," she said as confusion and doubts swirled and mixed with the overwhelming desire and affection she felt for him. "Things between us aren't a lot different than they were yesterday or even a year ago. Not yet anyway, well maybe a little, but that doesn't mean I'll ever go back to where we were. I have to be certain I want this," she stammered, wondering if that last kiss had caused oxygen deprivation, considering the lack of sense she was making.

"It's okay, Calleigh. I think I get it. We're not really anywhere yet, but we're thinking about it. Right?"

"Well, we're someplace," she said, immensely grateful they were on the same page. "We're here, we're together, and that's a start."

"It is," he said, giving her a smile that sent butterflies fluttering around her insides. "Come on, let's take this inside." Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her into his side as they headed the rest of the way to their room.

Waiting for Jake to unlock the door, she turned her gaze to the rock and shell strewn pathway that led to the beach. She could hear the waves as they crashed onto the rickety old jetty she was surprised was still standing after all the recent storms. There was a spot she'd picked out years ago just for an occasion like this. Closing her eyes, she imagined the two of them as they sat tucked into one another watching as the new day and New Year broke open in a splash of colored light across the horizon. She didn't need to watch the New Year sunrise to see the possibilities riding in on the crest of it, but she sure was going to enjoy it. Sighing contentedly, she followed him inside, closing the door behind her, and flicking off the light.

And maybe this New Year, they'd find their way back.

The End


End file.
